Author: Jeremy Botter

Alexander Shlemenko Accuses Brian Stann of Faking Injuries. Wait, What?

I’m going to take it easy on Bellator fighter Alexander Shlemenko here today, because it’s quite apparent from reading these recent comments that he’s either not all there mentally or just isn’t very smart.I mean, how else can you explain this wacky in…

I’m going to take it easy on Bellator fighter Alexander Shlemenko here today, because it’s quite apparent from reading these recent comments that he’s either not all there mentally or just isn’t very smart.

I mean, how else can you explain this wacky interview?

I can tell you for sure, 100%, I know why there are so many injuries. I personally find UFC fights not as exciting because of all those injuries. There are a lot of background tactics around who’s fighting who; fighters are trying really hard to have a good record in the UFC. If you’ve been offered to fight someone who’s considered a bad match-up, then it’s pretty easy to say ‘hey, I’m injured’.

For example, they offered Brian Stann to fight Hector Lombard. He got injured, and then the next thing you know – he’s fighting Michael Bisping. I can see the logic – for Brian Stann it makes more sense to fight Bisping, he’s simply more popular in the UFC than Hector Lombard. That’s why beating Bisping means more than beating Lombard, who’s a risky opponent.

You can fake every injury. Just tell [UFC doctors] about the symptoms and that’s it.

We should get one thing straight, right here off the top, because Alexander is quite obviously confused about how the process of visiting doctors actually works.

Fighters who are injured don’t visit “UFC doctors,” mostly because there are no such thing as “UFC doctors.” There are specialists in Las Vegas and Orange County who the UFC regularly sends fighters to, but only for secondary opinions. There is no magic hospital in that black Zuffa office down on Sahara in Vegas with doctors wearing lab coats covered in Tapout logos. 

The first recourse for an injured fighter is to visit his own doctor. Once an injury is confirmed by that doctor, the fighter’s management then sends all of the pertinent documentation over to the Zuffa offices. This is standard operating procedure for every single injury in the UFC; there’s never been a single instance where a fighter simply says he’s injured and is allowed to back out of a fight without providing actual, visible proof.

But then again, this is all very silly because Shlemenko decided to accuse Brian Stann of faking an injury. Brian Stann. You know, the last guy in the entire world who would ever fake an injury? Yeah, that guy.

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Georges St-Pierre vs. Anderson Silva: The Stars Are Aligning

A superfight between Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva has been at the forefront of fan imaginations for several years. Everyone wants to see it. Sure, we also want to see Silva move up and face Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title, but I …

A superfight between Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva has been at the forefront of fan imaginations for several years. 

Everyone wants to see it. Sure, we also want to see Silva move up and face Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title, but I can’t imagine a single MMA fan on the planet that would have a problem if the UFC booked St-Pierre to face Silva immediately upon his return from injury.

That’s not happening, of course. St-Pierre first has to face Carlos Condit in November. But if he gets past that fight—and I’m actually comfortable writing these words—I firmly believe St-Pierre’s next match will be against Silva at some point in the first quarter of 2013, and possibly at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. And make no mistake about it: That’s the biggest fight in UFC history, bar none.

St-Pierre talked to Mike Chiapetta over at MMAFighting about the potential of a Silva bout:

“It could happen of course,” he said. “It definitely can happen, but for me, that’s far ahead in time. Right now, I’m not thinking about that. I can’t. My main thing right now is to get better, and then when I’m going to fight, to get ready to win the fight, what I need to do to win and beat the guy. I need to focus on one thing at a time.

“You never know what’s going to happen in the future,” he continued. “A lot of things can change. There are a lot of big fights coming up. Chris Weidman, I’ve seen him in training. He’s at a different level. He can be world champion if he fights Anderson first. So, this fight is not written in blood. If all goes well and all the stars are aligned, yeah, maybe one day it will happen. But right now, I just came back and I need to fight Carlos Condit. We’ll see what’s going to happen next.”

We know Silva wants the fight. He doesn’t want to face Chris Weidman or Tim Boetsch or any of the other middleweight contenders; he wants to face St-Pierre, likely in a catchweight bout. And we know St-Pierre is intrigued by the idea, despite the fact that he’s trying to keep the focus on Condit. That’s a smart move, too; Condit should not be taken lightly by anyone, St-Pierre included.

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Nate Diaz Says F— the Belt, He’s Trying to Beat the World’s Best Lightweight

If you told me I could only pick one potential fight to watch for the rest of 2012—just one fight, on an endless loop—my answer would be easy: Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz for the UFC lightweight title. It’s safe to say that I’m exci…

If you told me I could only pick one potential fight to watch for the rest of 2012—just one fight, on an endless loop—my answer would be easy: Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz for the UFC lightweight title. 

It’s safe to say that I’m excited for this fight. I get excited every time a Diaz fights because both of the Stockton brothers are something special. A Diaz fight feels urgent and also a little bit like what I imagine walking on a tightrope must feel like, because you’re never actually sure what’s going to happen. 

With Nate, that feeling of impending doom is slightly lessened. The first time I ever met Nate, he called me “sir” several times, which made me feel quite old. He’s an incredibly nice and respectful guy.

But he’s also a dynamo in the cage, and that’s why I can’t wait for the fight. Diaz isn’t going to play a counter-striking game like Frankie Edgar did, and he’s not going to go backwards in hopes of setting up shots or anything like that. Diaz is going to continually walk directly at Henderson and try to punch him repeatedly in the face and/or body. What’s not to love?

Diaz was interviewed by ASX-TV (formerly known as HDNet) and Ron Kruck about the title situation. Check out the video to hear Diaz and the champ discuss the way they match up. 

I train with guys just like that, strong guys, athletic guys, that are good. It’s definitely gonna be a good, hard fight. Now it’s time to fight for a title and I’m gonna do what I could to win that belt for my team. F— the belt. I’m trying to beat the number one guy in the world and that’s him right now.

Vintage Diaz. I can’t wait for this fight, you guys.

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Ronda Rousey Has Filmed an Annoying Video for Sarah Kaufman’s Ticket Contest

Sarah Kaufman is holding a ticket contest for her bout this Saturday night in San Diego.Kaufman, the former bantamweight champion, is challenging current champ Ronda Rousey for the title. Kaufman encouraged her fans to submit videos with their best imp…

Sarah Kaufman is holding a ticket contest for her bout this Saturday night in San Diego.

Kaufman, the former bantamweight champion, is challenging current champ Ronda Rousey for the title. Kaufman encouraged her fans to submit videos with their best impersonation of Rousey, with the winner being awarded two tickets to the event.

Well, Rousey took it upon herself to submit her own video. And this, in my opinion, was a very bad idea.

Don’t get me wrong: I like the idea. It’s a hilarious concept. But Rousey’s video quickly goes from “that’s amusing” to “please, where is the stop button on this thing.” It’s far too long and, quite frankly, more annoying than anything I’ve watched in recent memory.

I will admit that Rousey attempting to armbar a prehistoric vacuum cleaner was amusing, but it’s one of the few funny moments of the entire dreadful four minutes.

I’ll give points to Rousey for creativity. But in order to be the rising mixed martial arts star she’s billed as, she needs to spend her time acting like a star. Filming goofy videos isn’t the way to go about it.

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Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller Arrested After Vandalizing Church, Getting Naked

Just moments after I filed this story about the Twitter beef between Dana White and Jason “Mayhem” Miller, TMZ reported that Miller had found himself in a bit of trouble:
Recently-axed UFC fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller was arrested today in O…

Just moments after I filed this story about the Twitter beef between Dana White and Jason “Mayhem” Miller, TMZ reported that Miller had found himself in a bit of trouble:

Recently-axed UFC fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller was arrested today in Orange County, TMZ has learned — after allegedly breaking into a church, spraying a fire extinguisher all over the place, and getting buck naked.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, the O.C. Sheriff’s Office received a call early this morning from the Mission Hills Church in Mission Viejo about a possible burglary in progress.

When the deputies arrived, we’re told they found the first and second floors covered in white fire extinguisher spray. Cops say the place was also trashed — scattered CDs, books, and broken pictures.

When officers reached the second floor, we’re told they found Miller naked on some couch — totally awake and coherent.

This is unfortunate news, obviously. And it seems as though White may have been more accurate than we thought possible when he said the following:

And as the tweeting went on, you saw – that kid’s on medicine, he has some issues, and the last thing I want to do is have that kid more bummed out and depressed than he already is. 

I don’t want to jump to conclusions, and I’m not going to. But if TMZ’s reporting is accurate—and they usually are, despite obviously being a very tabloid-y operation—then it appears White was correct when he talked about Miller’s current issues.

The only thing we can do is hope Miller gets the help he apparently needs.

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Dana White Is Bummed out About His Twitter Beef with Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller

Dana White isn’t a dude who takes guff from other dudes on Twitter. That’s part of his charm, I guess. If you’re a fan and you decide to mouth off to White on Twitter, there’s a good chance he’s going to fire right back at you, probably while insulting…

Dana White isn’t a dude who takes guff from other dudes on Twitter. That’s part of his charm, I guess. If you’re a fan and you decide to mouth off to White on Twitter, there’s a good chance he’s going to fire right back at you, probably while insulting your Twitter profile picture and your meager amount of followers.

That attitude isn’t specifically reserved for fans, either. If you speak some nonsense to White, he’s going to send it right back to you, even if you’re a guy who used to fight for his organization.

Jason Miller found this out over the weekend when a Twitter conversation between him and the UFC president turned ugly quickly:

White responded like he usually does, but then a rare thing happened: He started feeling bad about the whole exchange. He asked Miller to call him, but Miller refused. White detailed his thoughts on the incident during an interview with MMA Heat: 

He sent that tweet, I tweeted back, and I was joking. And as the tweeting went on, you saw – that kid’s on medicine, he has some issues, and the last thing I want to do is have that kid more bummed out and depressed than he already is. He started talking like a jackass on Twitter, so I blasted him back. Now I kind of wish I didn’t. 

I’m sure he’s not going through a very good time right now, no matter how much he wants to say he is. A guy like Jason, he’s one of those nutty-type guys. Has he always been my favorite fighter? No. A lot of the antics that he does, I’m not a fan of (and) I don’t like – the pink boas and all that kind of stuff. I like guys that are serious and guys that come in to fight hard and win. But I don’t hate Jason Miller or wish any ill will to the kid. Whatever he has moved on to in the next chapter of his life, I hope he’s successful, and I hope he does well.

This is a rare moment of reflection from White. And, to be perfectly honest, it’s refreshing. I don’t think it’s a sign that he’s changing his methods, because a leopard can’t change his spots, but it’s good to see this kind of raw honesty coming from him.

Miller’s final run in the UFC wasn’t what he wanted, and it wasn’t what the fans wanted by any stretch of the imagination. But the last thing anyone wants to see is a war brewing between “Mayhem” and his old boss.

UPDATE: TMZ.com is reporting that Miller was arrested on Monday after breaking into a church, spraying a fire extinguisher and taking off all his clothes.

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